1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for indicating the position of an object in three dimensional space.
Such an apparatus finds application for example in robotics when it is required to place under remote control a manipulator adjacent to an object to be manipulated.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known form of such apparatus comprises a binocular stereoscopic viewing arrangement comprising means for obtaining two two-dimensional images of the scene including the object and the manipulator viewed from two points separated by a distance equal to the average observer interocular distance, the two images being separated by this distance. An observer is then able to fuse the two images and derive an appreciation of the range of any point within the scene due to the inherent binocular disparities between the two images. Such an apparatus can be used by an operator to place, under remote control, a manipulator adjacent to an object using his or her judgement of the relative positions of the manipulator and object in his or her stereoscopic view of the scene, but this can be a slow and difficult process.